Donald Trump’s argument that the Russia scandal is a \u00ab\u00a0witch hunt\u00a0\u00bb was thoroughly discredited today by the former director of the CIA.<\/b>
\nFor months, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and their political operation insisted that no one from Trump World was in communications with Russia while Russia was attacking our election in support of Trump. The evidence to the contrary from news accounts has been overwhelming, to the point that the White House doesn\u2019 t even bother to repeat the talking point anymore. It was nevertheless helpful to have the former director of the CIA testify under oath today about the \u201cinteractions\u201d between Team Trump and its Russian benefactors.
[F] ormer CIA Director John Brennan appeared before the House Intelligence Committee and said he believes Russia \u201cbrazenly\u201d interfered in last year\u2019s presidential election and that he knew of contacts between Trump associates and Russian officials. \u201cI encountered and am aware of information and intelligence that revealed contacts and interactions between Russian officials and U. S. persons involved in the Trump campaign, \u201d Brennan told lawmakers. He added that he is not sure whether \u201ccollusion existed\u201d between the campaign and Moscow, but the interactions were enough that he believed the matter warranted an FBI investigation.
So much for the president\u2019s \u201cwitch hunt\u201d argument. Brennan, who led the CIA for four years, including throughout the 2016 U. S. presidential campaign, also testified that Moscow \u201cclearly had a more favorable view\u201d toward the Trump campaign. And though the former CIA chief didn\u2019 t identify individuals from Trump\u2019s operation by name, Brennan was willing to say in his testimony, \u201cI know there was a sufficient basis of information and intelligence that required further investigation by the bureau to determine whether U. S. persons were actively conspiring, colluding, with Russian officials.\u201d As a rule, the president and his allies seize on circumspect answers from intelligence agency officials \u2013 folks who tend to avoid provocative public answers on any subject \u2013 to falsely claim the \u201ccollusion\u201d allegation has already been discredited. Brennan\u2019s remarks to Congress today were a reminder that the allegation is alive and well. It was also a reminder that every claim from Team Trump about there being no contacts between Trump\u2019s operation and Russian officials was demonstrably wrong \u2013 raising questions anew about whether the president was ignorant or lying. Making matters just a little worse, Brennan answered questions about Trump apparently leaking classified secrets to Russia for unknown reasons, which the former CIA director said likely violated two U. S. intelligence protocols. Finally, Brennan took a moment to note that during his career, he\u2019s seen examples of Russia getting Americans, even CIA officials, \u201cto become treasonous. And frequently, individuals who go along a treasonous path do not even realize they\u2019 re along that path until it gets to be a bit too late.\u201d File that quote away for future reference.<\/p>\n

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